Two subsidiaries of the shipping company responsible for operating the container ship M/V Dali are facing federal criminal charges for their role in the events leading up to the ship’s fatal 2024 collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The federal indictment names Singapore-based Synergy Marine Pte Ltd and Chennai, India-based Synergy Maritime Pte Ltd, both subsidiaries of Synergy Global Marine, also of Singapore, and Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, 47, an Indian national who worked for both companies as Dali’s technical superintendent.
Citing the chain of events detailed by the National Transportation Safety Board’s 18-month investigation into the incident, the indictment alleges the defendants were responsible for making modifications to the Dali that compromised “reliable redundancies and automatic restart capabilities” originally designed as part of the ship’s critical systems. Modifications included the use of a wash pump to supply fuel to two of Dali’s four generators.
As the Dali was leaving Baltimore Harbor in the pre-dawn hours of March 26, 2024, the ship experienced a power outage that the NTSB concluded was the result of a loose wire in a high-voltage switchboard. Dali’s generators ran only briefly, the indictment says, because the wash pump was not designed to automatically restart after a blackout, causing a second outage.
“Had the Dalí operated the proper fuel supply pumps,” the indictment added, “the ship would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the bridge of the key.” Instead, the helpless vessel passed two 28-foot-wide dolphins, eventually striking one of the main support pylons of the Key Bridge. Six construction workers on the bridge at the time of the impact were killed, while the wreckage of the bridge blocked access to the port of Baltimore for more than two months.
In addition to charges of conspiracy and failure to immediately notify the U.S. Coast Guard of a known dangerous condition, the indictment charges the three defendants with obstructing an agency proceeding and providing false statements and documents to the NTSB, according to a DOJ statement. The obstruction charges relate, among other things, to Nair’s statements to investigators that he did not know the flush pump was being used to fuel the generators.
The two Synergy corporations are also charged with misdemeanor violations of the Clean Water Act, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Waste Act for the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River, including the shipping containers and their contents, the oil, and the bridge itself.
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A statement from Synergy Marine called the allegations “inconsistent with the clear and well-documented findings of the specialized marine professionals involved in the NTSB’s investigation.” Promising a vigorous defense, the statement notes that Synergy and its employees “have been fully cooperative and transparent at all times during the NTSB’s investigation, and any allegation to the contrary is woefully inaccurate.”
Maryland opts for $2.25 settlement
Just hours after the DOJ announced the charges, the state of Maryland announced it had finalized a $2.5 billion settlement with Synergy Marine and Dali’s owner, Grace Ocean Private Ltd. The settlement resolves multiple claims filed against the ship’s interests by the state attorney general on behalf of the state and various agencies seeking what some observers estimated could amount to several billion dollars in destruction. bridge, environmental damage, loss of toll revenue and economic losses.
In response, Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine sought to limit their total liability to approximately $43.7 million, invoking the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, a maritime law that links a shipowner’s liability to the value of the vessel after a disaster. The trial was scheduled to begin on June 1, 2026.
“In reaching this settlement,” according to a statement from Attorney General Anthony G. Brown (D), “the State carefully examined the available resources of Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, including available insurance limits, and concluded that the settlement maximizes the available recovery of interests in the vessel.
Maryland’s decision to accept a settlement may also have been influenced by the NTSB’s conclusion that the disaster was entirely preventable and that Dalí’s builder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, was to blame for the ship’s initial loss of power. Brown says the state plans to file claims against Hyundai Heavy Industries for its fault and share of the state’s damages.
Separately, the federal government reached its own $102 million settlement with them in 2024 to cover multi-agency debris response and cleanup costs.
Meanwhile, a Key Bridge replacement is on hold following the MDTA’s decision last month to drop Kiewit Infrastructure Co. of the progressive design and rebuild effort, citing a nearly threefold increase in estimated costs since the firm was selected in August 2024. The Maryland Transportation Authority has not yet scheduled an industry forum expected to begin the multimillion-dollar procurement process. effort, with the intention of having the new bridge ready by the end of 2030.
